Michael Taapken and other volunteers carry the last panel to complete installation of The Wall That Heals in Butte in August.
Photo provided by Town Pump Charitable Foundation
Thousands of people from the region and from across the country experienced the solemn but uplifting aura that The Wall That Heals brought to Butte from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, 2024.
A three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., The Wall That Heals honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. It bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, including 22 from Butte-Silver Bow County and 267 from Montana.
The display and a mobile education center were open 24 hours a day, and were free to the public to experience. The event drew an estimated 30,000 people.
The opening ceremony for The Wall That Heals drew a huge crowd of veterans, their families and other supporters.
Photo provided by Town Pump Charitable Foundation
“I personally heard dozens and dozens of stories from men and women who served in Vietnam or from loved ones who lost someone who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Michael Taapken, a Marine sergeant from Butte who led the effort to get The Wall That Heals to Butte. “I would like to think that the vast majority of those individuals found some healing here.”
A visitor kneels to get a closer look at names on The Wall That Heals in Butte.
Photo provided by Town Pump Charitable Foundation
Taapken added that the national The Wall That Heals Foundation said the Butte effort to host The Wall That Heals sparked an 80 percent increase in registration for its In-Memory program. Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, the In-Memory program identifies and honors veterans who served in Vietnam and made it home successfully, but who have since passed away.
Butte was the only city in an eight-state region to host The Wall That Heals this year, and the Town Pump Charitable Foundation provided $25,000 to help fund the effort.
“None of this could have been possible without the tremendous generosity of the Town Pump Foundation,” Taapken said. “I am so thankful for that.”
Taapken also thanked the many co-chairs and the hundreds of volunteers who worked tirelessly to make it all happen.
“We could not have achieved such success without their hard work,” he said. “It couldn’t have come together any other way.”
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